


Puppy Love

by MegaWallflower



Category: Naruto
Genre: Cute Kids, Fluff, Happy Hatake Sakumo, M/M, PoV Hatake Sakumo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-23 20:46:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17690585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaWallflower/pseuds/MegaWallflower
Summary: Eight ninja puppies, two tiny ninjas-in-training, and one legendary shinobi who might not be trained well enough to keep up with all of them.





	Puppy Love

Childish peals of laughter rang throughout the walls, tiny feet bursting out onto the outside world and he turns back, calling out–

“Catch me if you caaaaan, guys!! If you can’t keep up with me, there’s no way you’ll keep up with Kakashi!”

Sakumo, Konoha's White Fang, a legendary ninja thought to rival the sannin themselves and who had “flee on sight” orders from all shinobi nations, nearly tripped over his feet trying to dodge the stampede of eight little puppies and one little boy with enough energy to match them all. They started to circle around him in their chase, and by the time one of them called out “Sakumo! It’s Sakumo,” the man had already luckily regained his balance.

One by one, the puppies, and the boy –Guy –stopped in their tracks and blinked owlishly up at Sakumo. The puppies plopped down submissively, and if Guy had a tail, his would probably be resting between his legs as well.

Sakumo cleared his throat. “Um, hello, Guy,” he greeted somewhat awkwardly, not sure what to say here. He always tried not to accidentally insult Guy again, but Kakashi always seemed to point out some small way in which he had. Kakashi wasn’t there to mediate the conversation this time, so Sakumo could only hope he remembered enough about how to be a somewhat decent human being on his own.

“Sakumo-san! Hi!” Guy hugged Sakumo’s legs happily, prompting the puppies around him to relax and paw at Sakumo’s shoes and pants.

The sudden change took him aback, and it was made even more jarring by the fact that Sakumo had just returned from a mission that had a certain amount of lethal cruelty from him.

“We’re training our stamina! Kakashi is pushing his chakra to the limits to keep his summons out as long as he can, so we wanted to improve ourselves as well!” Guy explained, and the ninken pups around him chimed in with uproarious assent. “And Kakashi is out right now, so he’s trusted me with the vital task of watching over them! I’m honored my rival trusts me so much!”

“Kakashi does…?”

Guy flashed a grin up at Sakumo, hooking a thumb toward himself. “Of course! I am his man of destiny, after all!” He assured him with all the confidence in the world.

Sakumo visibly relaxed, finally. Guy’s confidence brought a smile to his face. “Of course,” he agreed playfully.

Guy lit up with excitement. If Guy had a tail, he would certainly be wagging it right now. “Do you want to train with us, too? Kakashi will be so happy!”

Sakumo shook his head and leaned against the outside wall of his house. “I’ll just watch for now. I just got back,” he answered, although his lack of fatigue was probably obvious. This situation was always more tiring than any mission.

Guy nodded. “Right! Rest is important too! We have to take care of our bodies! Speaking of…” Guy turned back to the puppies, whose attention had strayed during their conversation. Half of them were trying lazily to catch and chew their own tails while they lay down. Guy clapped, and they all stood back at attention. “Okay, that’s enough of a break, everyone! A hundred laps all around the outside of the house together! Ready? Go!”

Guy took off running, and Kakashi’s ninken gave chase, shouting encouragement at each other.

A tug at his leg caught his attention and Sakumo looked down to be greeted by one of the ninken pups who had trailed behind. The pug one –Pakkun, wasn’t it? “Yes…?”

“It was partially to ditch the kid,” Pakkun explained, in a squeaky little voice. This one was easily the most adept at language so far. “We’re keeping an eye on him as much as he’s keeping an eye on us.”

Sakumo smiled empathetically. “I suppose that does sound more like Kakashi…”

Pakkun nodded, scurrying off to join in with the rest of his pack, racing Guy around the small Hatake residence.

Sakumo sighed tiredly, watching the group’s progress as it went along. He noted midway through the “training”, which apparently was just running and playing with the puppies, that they listened to Guy pretty well. After the laps, Guy went through a number of katas, coaching each of the dogs through the best way they could follow along with him, given their lack of dexterity. After that, Guy pulled out a spare jumpsuit and demonstrated how elastic and difficult to tear it was, then offered the dogs a chance to play tug of war with him using that as their rope. They all gladly obliged, and Sakumo learned that the jumpsuit really was impressively resilient and that the eight dog’s combined strength was only slightly stronger than Guy’s.

There were some puppies who were curious and knocked him around a bit, like Bull, who actually had the raw power to knock the boy off his feet singlehandedly. One of the sharper looking ones was more reserved, and seemed to hover around Guy but avoid getting too close.

That went on for a while, until Sakumo sensed a familiar chakra pattern approaching the gate.

“I’m home,” Kakashi started to say, but the sentence was never finished as a blur of bright green and orange bounced towards him and tackled him with enough force to send him back a few steps. Sakumo honestly couldn’t tell if that had been meant as a surprise attack or a hug.

The dogs that followed actually succeeded in knocking Kakashi off his feet, putting him at the bottom of a pile of very hyperactive puppies. Momentarily, at least.

A puff of odorless smoke dissolved around him, leaving a simple log and making Guy the bottom of the pile. “What –Aw, Kakashi! No fair!” Guy complained.

“Dad, you’re home early!” the real Kakashi greeted, stepping out from behind Sakumo. Kakashi tended to be a bit withdrawn when he wasn’t being outright smug, but right now, as he was looking up at Sakumo, his father saw the same joy and excitement in his eyes as the puppies had in theirs when they saw their master return.

Sakumo smiled back automatically, reaching over to ruffle Kakashi’s disheveled grey hair. The action caused him to squirm slightly, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as a small giggle escaped him. “I wanted to make it back sooner. I missed you.”

An almost shy smile pulled at Kakashi lips –Sakumo was more than adept at reading his own son’s half-hidden expressions. “Is that so?”

Having finally pulled themselves out of the pile they formed on the log that had been Kakashi’s decoy, the ninken charged at their master and circled around him excitedly.

Kakashi knelt beside the puppies. At his approach, one of them –Bisuke? – immediate rolled onto his side for pets. He gently ran a hand down its side. “They don’t look as tired as I expected. You were slacking off, Guy,” Kakashi scolded, as the other puppies all started talking at once and several of them rolled onto their backs for belly rubs of their own. Kakashi smiled down at them as his hand ran over soft fur and even softer belly skin.

Sakumo had been worried that so many ninken might be hard to handle at first, but now his heart felt warm at the sight of Kakashi surrounded by a handful of clamoring dogs who were still mostly too small for headbands.

“I never slack off, Rival! They’re just tough! And of course they are, they’re _yours_ ,” Guy argued, kneeling down to help when it became apparent that petting eight dogs with only two arms could prove difficult, even for a prodigy like Kakashi.

Kakashi glanced back at Sakumo, and the two of them shared a smile. “What do you think, dad?”

“If there’s anything Guy doesn’t seem to be, it’s a slacker,” Sakumo answered with a solemn nod.

Happy tears streamed down Guy’s face. “That’s… the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said about me,” he sobbed. “Your papa is so great, Kakashi…!”

The corners of Kakashi’s mouth quirked upwards, as if he wanted to smile. “…Then they’re probably hungry,” Kakashi said, standing up. “Aren’t you?” It was more of an order than a question, so the dogs each voiced their assent. “See? I should feed them.”

Guy stood up after him and took Kakashi’s hands in his, leaning in too closely. “I’ll help, Kakashi! Want me to fetch the food?!” Guy’s smile and his eagerness to help made Kakashi’s face warm as he nodded, something that only showed in the pink of Kakashi’s ears. “You should stay out here and catch up with your papa!” Thankfully, Guy’s words were thrown over his shoulder as he ran inside, so he likely did not see Kakashi standing there with pink cheeks and a puppy trying to chew on his sleeve.

Kakashi cleared his throat and turned his full attention to his father now that they were alone together, not counting the eight pairs of eyes intently staring at the both of them. Actually, one of the dogs wore sunglasses for some reason, so Sakumo couldn’t be sure where its gaze was set.

“Welcome home, Dad,” Kakashi offered, along with a more open smile. “I missed you, too.”

Sakumo placed his hand on the top of Kakashi’s head again. “I’m happy to see you holding up so well, Kakashi.”

Kakashi grinned. “I’m the best in my class. Ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, tests, scrolls, codes,” Kakashi listed everything off on his fingers. “And now, summoning, too. You should bring me on another mission with you sometime.”

“I’m sorry. There are some I simply can’t bring you along on.” As mature and skilled as Kakashi was for his age, there were still some things Sakumo suspected he wasn’t supposed to expose him to yet, as a father.

Kakashi deflated slightly, but hid his disappointment. “I know. They’re classified. It’s not like you go on D-rank missions like Guy’s dad does. You’re better than that. I’ll just get better, too. I’m not going to drag you down!”

The subject was one Sakumo didn’t know how to breech without giving too little explanation and seeming like he was belittling his son, or else giving too much and surely becoming the worst father in the village. “You and Guy seem like you’re getting along better now,” he said instead.

Kakashi accepted the change the subject without a fight. “He’s annoying. But,” Kakashi shrugged. “He’s not the most annoying kid I know. I can handle him.” Kakashi grunted and quickly added, “But he’s not better than me. At anything. At all.”

 _Yet._ Sakumo didn’t voice that opinion. “Is it fun being with him? Do you trust him?”

Kakashi scoffed at that. “He’s too weak to beat me even in my sleep, there’s no _trust_ about it,” he half-answered.

Sakumo wondered vaguely if Kakashi simply couldn’t connect with other people. Aside from himself, Kakashi only ever seemed to be particularly open to his ninken. Sakumo wasn’t sure if it had just become a habit. Now that he thought about it, Kakashi was quite unlike the other children at the academy. It was something he probably inherited from Sakumo, as awkward as he was.

“—I FOUND THEM!” Guy called, running back out and holding the bags of dog food over his head. Almost all of the dogs went from circling Kakashi to circling Guy, trying in vain to get him to drop some of it.

“That was fast,” Kakashi remarked, walking to join Guy and his pack. The pug followed close on his heels.

“Of course! If I’m going to be the strongest man ever, I have to be the fastest one ever too, right?” Guy boasted, earning a bemused eyeroll from Kakashi.

Sakumo’s earlier anxieties washed away as Kakashi stood by Guy’s side, and it felt like things were settling back into place. The ninken yipped and tried to play bite at Guy’s fingers, and Guy just giggled in response, grinning and bragging to Kakashi that he was so popular. Kakashi simply rolled his eyes again.

For all his bravado, Kakashi didn’t seem _unhappy_ , at least.

Sakumo was grateful for the not-quite-friendship between the two. Despite Kakashi’s ongoing doubts, Sakumo felt surer than ever that he would be a worthwhile rival eventually. Kakashi would benefit from the motivation.

He was broken out of his thoughts when Guy waved him over. “Sakumo-san! Sakumo-san, Sakumo-san,” Guy grabbed two handfuls of treats and ran to him. “You should come help too! Here, give them this!” Before Sakumo could protest, Guy dumped the food into his arms and shoved him off as most of the puppies quickly moved to crowd around him. A few followed him, likely for the snacks he was dropping, but they broke off the closer he got to the light-brown one with the sharpest teeth, until it was just him and – Urushi?

“Hello,” Sakumo said, moving to kneel slowly, watching as it took a step back from him. “Are you still hungry?” He kept his voice soft as he held out his hands, sitting back and keeping still as it slowly walked forward to nibble at the food in it. Being fierce had always come easy to Sakumo, but being soft was something he was still learning as one of the countless lessons of fatherhood.

Urushi slobbered all over his hands as the dog finally decided it was safe to eat. Kakashi watched curiously, gauging his father’s response so he would know whether or not he should reprimand his dog, but Sakumo just smiled and laughed a bit. He could see the tension leave Kakashi’s shoulders as he turned his attention back to Pakkun. “Guy, did you see their bowls piled up in the corner? Get those and some milk.”

“Okay!” And Guy was off again, obedience befitting of a future shinobi.

“He’s practically one of my ninken,” Kakashi joked, laughing to himself as he kept petting Pakkun. “But he’s not nearly as cute as you guys.”

“Is he one of your friends?” Sakumo asked.

Kakashi hummed dismissively. “I don’t need things like that, Dad.” A non-answer. Guy had returned, balancing the eight bowls on his head and the carrying the milk in his arms, before Sakumo had any real time to press the issue.

“So! Did you get lots of training done, Kakashi? And did you fight lots of bad guys on your mission, Sakumo-san? I wanna know everything!” Guy asked as Kakashi watched his ninken lap at the small bowls of milk he set down for them.

“Of course, I did,” Kakashi stated matter-of-factly. Then, louder, with the very clear intent for Sakumo to hear this part, “Just because I’m already the best in the academy doesn’t mean I slack off.”

Sakumo chuckled to himself. “I really can’t give you any answers about S-rank missions, Guy. Some things are secrets.”

Bull, easily the largest of the puppies, rolled over onto its back and whined now that its belly was full. Kakashi reached out to gently pet the puppy’s side with his foot. “I’ll graduate and be out on real missions of my own before you know it. But Guy probably won’t ever get to learn any big secrets like that,” Kakashi teased, more mockingly than playfully.

“In that case,” Guy hopped to his feet, careful to avoid little paws. “I challenge you to a fight! Here and now! Let’s do it!”

Kakashi glanced at his father, meeting his gaze and smiling a small, almost imperceptible smile. “Alright.”

“No, I insist, we have to—what? Really? You want to?”

“It’s a good chance to see how well you trained my ninken today,” Kakashi said, stretching as he stood up. “They need a moving target to practice on, anyway.”

“I’m happy to help, then!” Guy looked at each of the dogs in turn. “Guruko! Pakkun! Bull! Urushi! Shiba! Bisuke! Akino! Uhei! Don’t hold back! That’s how friends show each other respect on the battlefield!”

Kakashi rolled his eyes again at Guy’s little speech.

Sakumo blinked as Kakashi walked off, hands in his pockets, with all of his puppies trailing after him like ducklings behind their mother. Guy assumed his own stance opposite him. “Dad, call the match for us?” Kakashi called.

“Of course. I’ll be watching closely,” Sakumo answered with a nod, a kind smile accompanied. “Begin.”

The fight was over before it really began.

Guy threw one punch, and promptly found himself lying on his stomach, held to the ground by eight jaws clenched around his body, teeth digging into his limbs.

Kakashi smirked, a smile that was very visible in the way his eyes crinkled now. “Can you still move?” he asked, squatting down in front of Guy.

Guy was clearly trying, but his attempts at struggling, which probably weren’t especially earnest with puppies as his opponents, didn’t get him anywhere. “No,” he finally admitted.

“Kakashi and his ninken soundly win this fight,” Sakumo announced, making Kakashi smile at him with a fierce and surprisingly familiar happiness.

When the puppies released their hold on him, Guy stifled a sigh and sat back up. Blood ran down Guy’s arms, but they were already rough and scarred. Guy had been through harder things than that already. It was strange, knowing the level of intense training a boy as normal and naïve as Guy put his body through on a regular basis.

“Well, kid,” Pakkun was apparently older than Guy? Or saw himself as older, at least. Guy nodded dutifully and gave the small pug his full attention, apparently buying into it as well. “You did good today. You gave it your best. That’s why…” Pakkun held up a single paw. “As a reward, I’ll let you shake my paw.”

A wide smile and sparkling eyes displayed his excitement clearly, and he clasped his hands together around Pakkun’s tiny paw, took a deep breath, and practically shouted, “Pakkun! It’s an honor! Your paw pads are so wonderfully soft and supple!”

“See?” Kakashi bragged, returning to his father’s side as the ninken crowded around Guy for praise and pets. “He hasn’t surpassed me yet, Dad.”

“He’s closer to you than he used to be,” Sakumo said, meaning it in more ways than one.

“…I’ll give him this, he definitely _tries_. Most people just give up instead of fight me,” A rare bit of genuine praise from Kakashi. “Out of the two people who don’t, he’s the less annoying. _Somehow_.” Very backhanded, but still genuine praise.

The puppies had all but buried him now, licking his cuts apologetically and competing with each other to see who could get the most pats. His enthusiasm matched well with theirs.

“He’s friends with them, at least,” Kakashi added. “Isn’t that enough?”

Sakumo had to think about it. He wasn’t sure if a good father would drop the subject there and just accept that, but then, he also had no idea what a good father would say aside from that. This was not among his skills.

And Kakashi was smiling as he watched his dogs play with Guy. He was happy.

So Sakumo was happy, too. “Yes. That’s fine.”

Kakashi leaned against Sakumo. “Train with me while you’re here?” he asked hopefully, picking up on Sakumo’s good mood.

The warmth that made his heart feel was hopefully properly conveyed in the smile Sakumo answered Kakashi with.


End file.
